Jeremiah 27
27
Slaves of Nebuchadnezzar
1-2 #
2 K 24.18-20; 2 Ch 36.11-13. Not long after Zedekiah became king of Judah,#27.1,2 Not long after Zedekiah became king of Judah: A few manuscripts and one ancient translation; most Hebrew manuscripts “Not long after Jehoiakim became king of Judah”; most manuscripts of another ancient translation do not have these words. Jehoiakim ruled 609–598 b.c., and Zedekiah ruled 598–586 b.c. the Lord told me:
Jeremiah, make a wooden yoke#27.1,2 yoke: A wooden collar that fits around the neck of an ox, so the ox can be made to pull a plow or a cart. with leather straps, and place it on your neck. 3Then send a message#27.3 a message: Hebrew “them.” to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Some officials from these countries are in Jerusalem, meeting with Zedekiah. 4So have them tell their kings that I have said:
I am the All-Powerful Lord God of Israel, 5and with my power I created the earth, its people, and all animals. I decide who will rule the earth, 6-7#Ba 3.16,17. and I have chosen my servant King Nebuchadnezzar#27.6,7 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2. of Babylonia to rule all nations, including yours. I will even let him rule the wild animals. All nations will be slaves of Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson. Then many nations will join together, and their kings will make slaves of the Babylonians.
8This yoke stands for the power of King Nebuchadnezzar, and I will destroy any nation that refuses to obey him. Nebuchadnezzar will attack, and many will die in battle or from hunger and disease. 9You might have people in your kingdom who claim they can tell the future by magic or by talking with the dead or by dreams or messages from a god. But don't pay attention if any of them tell you not to obey Nebuchadnezzar. 10If you listen to such lies, I will have you dragged far from your country and killed. 11But if you and your nation are willing to obey Nebuchadnezzar, I will let you stay in your country, and your people will continue to live and work on their farms.
12After I had spoken to the officials from the nearby kingdoms, I went to King Zedekiah and told him the same thing. Then I said:
Zedekiah, if you and the people of Judah want to stay alive, you must obey Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. 13But if you refuse, then you and your people will die from war, hunger, and disease, just as the Lord has warned. 14Your prophets have told you that you don't need to obey Nebuchadnezzar, but don't listen to their lies. 15Those prophets claim to be speaking for the Lord, but he didn't send them. They are lying! If you do what they say, he will have both you and them dragged off to another country and killed. The Lord has spoken.
16When I finished talking to the king, I told the priests and everyone else that the Lord had said:
Don't listen to the prophets when they say that very soon the Babylonians will return the things they took from my temple. Those prophets are lying! 17If you choose to obey the king of Babylonia, you will live. But if you listen to those prophets, this whole city will be nothing but a pile of rubble.
18If I really had spoken to those prophets, they would know what I am going to do. Then they would be begging me not to let everything else be taken from the temple and the king's palace and the rest of Jerusalem. 19-21After all, when Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin#27.19-21 Jehoiachin: Hebrew “Jeconiah” (see the note at 24.1). to Babylonia as a prisoner, he didn't take everything of value from Jerusalem. He left the bronze pillars, the huge bronze bowl called the Sea, and the movable bronze stands in the temple, and he left a lot of other valuable things in the palace and in the rest of Jerusalem.
But now I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, say that all these things 22will be taken to Babylonia, where they will remain until I decide to bring them back to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken.
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Jeremiah 27: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 27
27
Nebuchadnezzar Is Made Ruler
1The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This happened when Zedekiah son of Josiah was king of Judah. 2This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke out of straps and poles. Put it on the back of your neck. 3Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon. Send the messages through the messengers of these kings. Those messengers have come to Jerusalem to see Zedekiah king of Judah. 4Tell them to give this message to their masters. Tell them, ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: “Tell your masters: 5I made the earth and everyone on it. I made all the animals on the earth. I did this with my great power and my strong arm. I can give the earth to anyone I want. 6Now I have given all these lands to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He is my servant. I will make even the wild animals obey him. 7All nations will serve Nebuchadnezzar and his son and grandson. Then the time will come for Babylon to be defeated. Many nations and great kings will make Babylon their servant.
8“‘“But now some nations or kingdoms might refuse to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They might refuse to be under his control. If that happens, I will punish that nation with war, hunger and terrible sickness, says the Lord. I will do it until I destroy that nation. I will use Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the nation that fights against him. 9So don’t listen to your false prophets. Don’t listen to people who use magic to tell what will happen in the future. Don’t listen to those who say they can tell what dreams mean. Don’t listen to mediums or magicians. They all tell you, ‘You will not be slaves to the king of Babylon.’ 10They are telling you lies! They will only cause you to be taken far from your homeland. I will force you to leave your homes. And you will die in another land. 11But some nations will put themselves under the control of the king of Babylon. They will serve him. I will let those nations stay in their own country, says the Lord. The people from those nations will live in their own land and farm it.”’”
12I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “You must put yourself under the control of the king of Babylon and serve him. If you serve him and his people, you will live. 13Why should you and your people die like those who do not serve the king of Babylon? Why should you die because of war, hunger and sickness? The Lord said this will happen. 14But the false prophets are saying this: ‘You will never be slaves to the king of Babylon.’ Don’t listen to them because they are prophesying lies to you! 15‘I did not send them,’ says the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies. And they are saying the message is from me. So I will send Judah away. You will die! And those prophets who prophesy to you will die also.’”
16Then I, Jeremiah, said to the priests and all the people, “This is what the Lord says: Those false prophets are saying that what the Babylonians took from the Temple of the Lord will be brought back soon. Don’t listen to them! They are prophesying lies to you. 17Don’t listen to those prophets. But serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. There is no reason for you to cause Jerusalem to become a ruin. 18They might be prophets and have the message from the Lord. If so, let them pray to the Lord of heaven’s armies. Let them pray about the things that are still in the Temple of the Lord. Let them pray about the things that are still in the king’s palace and in Jerusalem. Let them pray that all this will not be taken away to Babylon.
19“This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says about those things left in Jerusalem. In the Temple there are the pillars, the large bronze bowl, which is called the Sea, the stands that can be moved and other things. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left them in Jerusalem. 20Nebuchadnezzar did not take these away when he took Jehoiachin king of Judah captive. Jehoiachin was the son of King Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar also took other important people away from Judah and Jerusalem. 21This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says about the things left in the Temple of the Lord and in the king’s palace and in Jerusalem: ‘All of this will also be taken to Babylon. 22And they will stay there until the day I go to get them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back and return them to this place.’”
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